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Two GOP Candidates Headed To Runoff In Attorney General’s Race

Two GOP Candidates Headed To Runoff In Attorney General’s Race

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS / (left) Asa Hutchinson is applauded by his wife Susan and others as early vote totals are announced at the former Republican congressman's election watch party in Little Rock,Tuesday, May 20, 2014. (right) Former congressman Mike Ross and his wife Holly celebrate after winning the statewide democratic primary election in the race for Arkansas governor in Little Rock Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

LITTLE ROCK — One of Tuesday’s statewide primary races is going to a June 10 runoff.

No one received more than 50 percent of the vote in the Republican primary for attorney general, so Little Rock lawyers Leslie Rutledge and David Sterling will compete in a runoff for the chance to face Democratic state Rep. Nate Steel of Nashville in the November general election.

Rutledge received 47 percent of the vote and Sterling received 39 percent, according to unofficial election results from the secretary of state’s office. North Little Rock lawyer Patricia Nation received 14 percent.

Both Rutledge and Sterling have pledged that as attorney general they would fight against what they consider an overreaching federal government. Sterling has advocated bringing back the electric chair if the state cannot immediately overcome difficulties in obtaining chemicals for lethal injections; Rutledge has said she opposes using the electric chair.

Rutledge said Wednesday she believes her experience, which includes being a deputy prosecutor and former counsel to the Republican National Committee, distinguishes her from Sterling.

“He has no experience in criminal law,” she told the Arkansas News Bureau. “We need an attorney general that understands criminal law. We need an attorney general with experience fighting the federal government that’s overreaching.”

Sterling said he is the more experienced candidate, saying Rutledge was a Lonoke County deputy prosecutor for only a short time.

“It’s just kind of laughable that she criticizes my lack of experience when basically I’ve got 15 years of civil practice experience, and the lion’s share of what the A.G.’s office does is handle civil lawsuits — protecting consumers, protecting our kids from cybercimes,” he said.

Races that were decided Tuesday included Republican and Democratic primary races for governor, won by former congressmen Asa Hutchinson and Mike Ross, respectively. Hutchinson received 73 percent of the vote in his race with businessman Curtis Coleman, while Ross received 85 percent of the vote in his race with substitute teacher Lynette Bryant.

Ross wasted no time going on the offensive against Hutchinson. On Wednesday, his campaign launched a television ad claiming that “in Congress, Asa Hutchinson voted to make it easier to ship our jobs to China” and that “now he wants to do it here.”

Hutchinson said Wednesday that as a congressman he supported legislation in 2000 to establish permanent normal trade relations with China, as did the entire Arkansas delegation and then-President Bill Clinton.

“This could only happen in the world of politics, where Mike Ross, who claims Bill Clinton as a mentor, is criticizing me for supporting legislation that was pushed by President Bill Clinton,” he told the Arkansas News Bureau.

Hutchinson said he had not expected to see Ross “go negative” so quickly.

“It’s a hard-fought campaign and we expected that, but it seems a little early for these desperation attacks,” he said.

The secretary of state’s office said 336,010 people cast ballots in the election, or, 20.7 percent of the state’s 1.6 million registered voters. The turnout was slightly lower than the 2012 primary turnout of 21.8 percent.

Other winners from Tuesday’s election included Little Rock banker French Hill, who avoided a runoff by receiving 55 percent of the vote in a three-way Republican primary for the 2nd District congressional seat. State Rep. Ann Clemmer, R-Benton, received 23 percent and retired Army Col. Conrad Reynolds received 21 percent. Hill will face Democrat Patrick Henry Hayes in November.

In the 4th Congressional District, state Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, defeated businessman Tommy Moll with 55 percent of the vote and will face Democrat James Lee Witt in November.

U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, avoided a runoff by receiving 63 percent of the vote in a three-way Republican primary for the chance to oppose Democrat John Burkhalter in the race for lieutenant governor. State Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-Hensley, received 21 percent of the vote and state Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, received 16 percent.

Saline County Clerk Dennis Milligan won 54 percent of the vote in a Republican primary for state treasurer, defeating state Rep. Duncan Baird, R-Lowell, for the chance to face Democrat Karen Sealy Garcia in November.

State Rep. Andrea Lea, R-Russellville, overwhelmingly defeated Ken Yang, the chief financial officer of a Benton restaurant, in a Republican primary for state auditor, winning 68 percent of the vote. She will face Democrat Regina Stewart Hampton in November.

State Court of Appeals Judge Robin Wynne won a seat on the state Supreme Court, defeating Little Rock lawyer Tim Cullen with 52 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan judicial general election. Wynne will replace retiring Justice Donald Corbin.

The election was the first statewide test of Arkansas’ new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The law has been declared unconstitutional by a Pulaski County circuit judge but remains in effect because the ruling has been stayed pending an appeal.

Under the law, a person who does not show photo ID at the polls can cast a provisional ballot that will be counted if the person presents photo ID to the county clerk or the county election commission before noon on the Monday after the election.

Bryan Poe, director of elections for Pulaski County, said 79 people cast provisional ballots in that county in the election, 25 of them because of a lack of photo ID. One person has since presented photo ID, he said Wednesday.

In Sebastian County, 13 people cast provisional ballots, said Election Coordinator Jerry Huff. He said not all were because of a lack of photo ID, but he did not have a breakdown.

Jefferson County Election Commissioner Will Fox said one person in that county cast a provisional ballot because of lack of ID.

The law also requires absentee voters to submit an approved form of identification and does not provide a remedy if a voter fails to comply.

Poe said that of roughly 640 absentee ballots received in Pulaski County, 62 lacked ID.

Huff said he did not have a count of absentee ballots submitted in Sebastian County without ID, but “there were some.” Fox said the number of absentee ballots received in Jefferson County without the required ID was “substantial.”